Manteca is taking another look at traffic calming possibilities for Mission Ridge Drive.

Mayor Gary Singh Tuesday said he has asked staff to revisit the issue.

Singh shared what staff would be doing after Tuesday’s City Council meeting when officials said they would look at the possibility of speed lumps on Diablo View Drive by a neighborhood  park.

The park is in a new neighborhood southwest of Woodward Avenue and Airport Way.

Residents were concerned about motorists speeding by the park especially after a three-month plus long detour started. Diablo View Drive is now being used as a shortcut deviation from the official detour.

In that case, Singh believes the developer involved in the detour should foot the bill for the speed lumps.

Mission Ridge residents over the span of five years tried twice unsuccessfully to secure what they wanted — “robust” traffic calming devices to slow drivers down.

They had hoped for stop signs at Mission Ridge and Locust Avenue at the  mid-point of the wide connector streets.

Staff at the time said speed lumps were more effective as stop signs are not traffic calming devices per se. That’s because many drivers, if they come to a full stop, then accelerate significantly after they clear intersections.

It is why speed lumps— such as on Thomas Street in front of Sierra High and along Hacienda Avenue — were considered the better option.

Instead, they got speed limit signs attached to a radar display that advised drivers how fast they are going.

They also got somewhat narrowed travel lanes by a city decision to restripe the bike lane farther from the curb.

Singh noted staff — at the direction of the council — has significantly streamlined the traffic calming request process.

Instead of taking between a year and two years, it was shortened to seven weeks for speed lumps to be approved on Daniels Street between Fishback Road and Junction  Drive.

Singh said he believes Manteca — given how the city a few years back frustrated Mission Ridge residents — needed to initiate a second look.

“I believe if people want speed lumps in front of their homes in their neighborhoods they should have speed lumps,” Singh said.

Speed lumps are basically four smaller speed humps spaced to allow buses and emergency vehicles to straddle them by going down the middle of the road or toward the side of the road .

 Staff is also expected to look at situations where speed lumps might enhance safety near existing parks and schools that aren’t located on major arterials.

Singh said given that is the new safety standard for development in Manteca, the city should work toward providing the same measure  of safety to existing neighborhoods when it comes to schools and parks.

Daniels Street is also a wider street like Mission Ridge Drive.

It also is a fairly heavily used route for emergency vehicles as it is used to access other residential streets just like Mission Ridge Drive.

The city now appears to have no issue with the use of speed lumps being a major problem for emergency vehicles.

Daniels Street and Mission Ridge Drive also share another common concern.

Both, as Singh and several council members have pointed out, have become de facto bypass routes for the 120 Bypass.

When traffic backs up, freeway drivers will often exit at one interchange and travel a mile to the next interchange via surface streets to leapfrog stalled traffic.

Several elected officials have commented that they fear the coming ground breaking next spring of the first phase of a three-phased endeavor to upgrade the 120 Bypass and Highway 99 interchange that may take 10 years to complete will result in more drivers using Daniels Streets and Mission Ridge Drive to get around jams on the 120 Bypass.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com